Lisbon breaks 37-year-old record for hottest temperature ever

Lisbon has broken a 37-year-old record to notch its hottest temperature ever as an unrelenting heatwave bakes Portugal and neighbouring Spain.

Portugal’s weather service said the capital reached 44C (111.2F) on Saturday, surpassing the city’s previous record of 43C (109.4F) set in 1981.

The day’s hottest temperature of 46.8C (116.2F) was recorded at Alvega in the centre of Portugal.

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The country’s highest temperature on record is 47.4C (117.3F) from 2003.

The hot, dusty conditions across the Iberian Peninsula are the result of a mass of hot air from Africa.